


Radioactive Spider Bites Are Rough

by FictionalWorldsAreExquisite



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fake Science, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Radiation Sickness, Tony Stark Has A Heart, bruce is just mentioned in the first chapter but he pops up again so, i THINK this counts as angst. it's hard for me to say, it's not that heavy though in my opinion, perhaps u could consider this extreme sickfic, the summary for once is actually better than the tags, there's a pre-spider bite tag but this is during the spider bite, with a hint of real stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:22:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22540054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionalWorldsAreExquisite/pseuds/FictionalWorldsAreExquisite
Summary: What if Peter Parker confessed to his aunt and uncle that he was bitten by a radioactive spider? What if his aunt bumps into Tony Stark by pure chance and asks him for help? What if Tony Stark accepts? How do things play out now?This story explores exactly that.
Relationships: Ben Parker/May Parker (Spider-Man), May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 56
Kudos: 209
Collections: best fanfics ive read





	1. A Chance Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo, this is a new fic I've been working on a lil. I just finished the third chapter (only the draft, but still) and I'm really feeling the fic start to take shape. It's not planned out AT ALL but I know what the fourth chapter will be, have an idea on the fifth and hhh I'm not sure where exactly I'll go from there but I'll figure it out once I get there. So the fic will be at least five chapters but I'm not sure how many more, therefore I'll just leave it as a question mark for now.
> 
> Dunno how often I'll update because both my second and third chapter are still rough drafts I need to fix up but rest assured, I do have the story already like half-written (unless I extend it). I don't think the chapters will be that long either but they may get bigger towards the end. Who knows. I sure don't bc I don't plan things! I'm also going to add tags of people that aren't directly involved in this chapter but will be pretty quickly just so you know where it's going. Hope that's okay (not trying to mislead you, they're just one chapter away)! I'll update the additional tags as I go if there's anything new. 
> 
> Enjoy! :) (i have never once come up with a good title in my life, don't question it)

With Tony’s status, he got stopped on the streets pretty often. Sometimes he was asked for a photo or an autograph, sometimes for a brief conversation, sometimes by a business partner (the worst).

So when he got stopped on the street by a woman dashing in front of him, slightly out of breath like she’d run to get there, he just raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “Listen, I’m running late for a meeting so if you want a photo or something-”

“No.” The woman cut him off. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to waylay you, but I have a favour to ask. I know it’s a stretch but…” she trailed off, waiting for his reaction.

Tony really did have somewhere to be but he couldn’t help but be interested. People asking him for help wasn’t entirely uncommon, financial help was a big thing people tried to get from him as was technology but this seemed different. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

The woman wasn’t young but signs of age were only just starting to grace her face, her brown hair was tied up messily in a low bun, several strands had come loose, and she seemed weighed down by something, dark bags under her eyes like she hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in awhile. Sue him, he was curious. He might regret this but…

“Alright, I’ll bite. Not here though.” Tony looked around the street where people were already showing mild interest in their interaction. “My meeting ends in two hours, I’ll tell the receptionist at Stark Tower that I’m meeting with you after, I’ll just need your name.”

“May Parker.” She paused before adding a, “thank you,” that was full of sincerity.

Tony nodded and turned. “See you later, then.”

\----

Tony was sitting behind the desk in his office that he barely ever used, swinging about in his chair while mostly-listening to Pepper.

“Tony, you have no idea what this woman wants. I don’t know what possessed you-”

“Kindness, perhaps?” More like curiosity, to be honest.

“-to actually listen for once but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Tony groaned and spun his chair around fully. “Pep, c’mon. Worst case scenario, she’s an assassin and security takes her out. Other scenarios, she wants a favour that I don’t want to give so I tell her no. Or maybe I’m actually an appropriate person to come to for help. Pep, I really don’t think it’s a money thing.”

“Mr. Stark, having an assassin in the workplace is not something to be flippant about.” Pepper said disapprovingly before continuing on normally, “and it’s nearly always a money thing when people want your help. They claim they’re pregnant with your child and expect money to help them, they claim you wronged them at some point and they expect appropriate monetary compensation, sometimes they just ask for money upfront.”

“You know I don’t mind the last one when I know they actually need money.” AKA after Tony had done a thorough background check.

“Anyway, I’m fairly sure she’s not here to kill me. I told her my meeting ended in two hours but it ended in one. I’ve already done a basic background check. She’s married to one Ben Parker and they’ve been taking care of their nephew, Peter, since his parents passed in a frankly, suspicious event. But that’s not the point.” Tony absolutely would be poking at that later, but no one had to know.

“They could probably do with some money but I don’t think they’re in a bad enough situation to try and ask me of all people. Her job checks out, Peter’s school checks out, Ben’s job checks out. The whole family seems clean.”

“Let me guess, the check was illegal.” Pepper sounded exasperated.

Tony shrugged and fiddled with a pen, “do you want me to let an assassin in?”

Pepper sighed and gathered up her papers before heading for the door. “Security is going to be directly outside this door. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Tony clutched his heart, “me? Never. Bye, Pep!”

If Pepper was any less professional, she probably would’ve rolled her eyes at him. Instead, she just gave him an unimpressed look before leaving without comment.

Tony sighed when the door shut. Pepper tended to be right. Maybe this was stupid. But he was interested and he had some spare time so he had no reason not to hear May out. Sure, he’d probably never done this before, he’d just turn the person down but he could change! Starting right now. He glanced at his watch. He suspected May would either be early or exactly on time so she’d likely be welcomed in any minute now.

Sure enough, one of the receptionists on his level knocked on his door and let him know one May Parker was here to see him. “Invite her in.” The receptionist nodded and went back out to grab her.

Soon enough, May came into view looking unsure of her surroundings but focused on what she was doing. “Hello, Mrs. Parker.”

“Oh. Just May is fine considering...everything.” She gave him a tight smile.

“Alright then, May. Sit.” May walked all the way in and sat in the chair in front of his desk, opposite him, the receptionist closing the door behind her. She placed her handbag on her lap and folded her hands on top of it.

“So, you wanted a favour. Talk.” Tony leaned back in his seat, watching her.

She didn’t seem to react to Tony’s short tone and a carefully neutral face, he doubted very little could actually put her off right now. “It’s...not too long a story but if you’ll let me tell it, I think it’ll explain everything quite well.”

Tony motioned for her to go on. The only other thing he’d be doing right now would be paperwork and he’d really rather not do that.

“I have a nephew, Peter. He lives with my husband and me, has for some time now.” She pulled a picture of the boy out of her handbag and slid it over. Tony looked over it. He knew about Peter and knew what he looked like but he was grinning in this photo, happiness taking over his face.

“Cute kid.” That wasn’t a lie. 

“He’s a good kid.” May took a deep breath. “But he’s not well.”

Tony considered this. Maybe this was a money thing. The Parker’s had enough to live off but if the kid had gotten really sick...well, he wouldn’t be against helping them out. He had a softness for kids and too much money on his hands, it wouldn’t bother him at all.

May continued after Tony didn’t stop her. “He went on a school trip to Oscorp the other day-”

Tony couldn’t help the mildly disgusted noise that came out of his mouth. Maybe it was a little dramatic but ew, Oscorp. He was not a fan.

“I very much agree with that sentiment, Mr. Stark-”

“Tony is fine.” Mr. Stark felt too formal right now.

“Tony, then. He was panicking when he came home because he got bitten by a spider while there. He didn’t want to tell us at first but we got it out of him eventually.”

So what? The kid was allergic to spiders or something? Maybe it was poisonous. That could be bad, right?

“Tony, the spider escaped its enclosure. It was a spider they were experimenting on, as far as Peter could tell. Likely radioactive based off what the tour guide mentioned. Now he’s...he’s really not doing well. We tried handling it on our own at first but his condition is worsening and he really needs to go to a hospital but, well, that’s a little out of our budget. I’m also not sure if they could help him.”

Tony didn’t react outwardly but he was pissed inwardly. No kid deserved that, no _one_ deserved that full stop. He could probably get Oscorp to pay up some serious money if there was proof, maybe get them shut down for a bit entirely. The kid’s condition was more important though.

“I just happened to see you by chance earlier and...I know if I should be going to anyone, it’s Mr. Osborne, but I tried and the receptionist wouldn’t let me get anywhere near him, or any of the higher-ups. So when I saw you, I thought maybe you could do something.” May raised her voice into a questioning tone towards the end.

Tony started fiddling with his thumbs out of view of May. He could pay for any treatment the kid needed but it was true that the average hospital might not be able to help. He had a medbay set up with some excellent doctors a few floors down but he didn’t want to fuck up and make the kid worse. Offering to help would make him responsible if his doctors couldn’t do anything. Maybe he could fly some experts in. Make them sign a non-disclosure agreement. God, Bruce would be a good person to have around right now. He’d try to contact him, Bruce was always soft for kids too even if he felt uncomfortable around them with the Hulk being a near-constant possibility.

“What exactly is wrong with the kid right now?” Tony questioned, trying to get a feel for how bad it was.

May pursed her lips. “Pretty much everything. He’s had a fever since it started, hallucinations, a high heart rate, nausea to the point where he can’t keep anything down which is leading towards dehydration, constant pain everywhere, a persistent migraine, he feels lightheaded and dizzy whenever he gets up and he’s passed out a few times, I think he’s had a couple of panic attacks or sensory overloads, it’s hard to tell exactly and I think...I think he had a minor seizure this morning.” May cleared her throat. “I mean, I know he did. He hasn’t really been aware of his surroundings for almost 24 hours now.”

Tony’s mind started to race. He knew May was a nurse so he’d trust she knew what she was talking about. This seemed really bad, not the kind of thing he could leave to think about overnight. He leant forward in his chair. “Alright, May. I’m going to be honest with you, okay?”

May nodded and looked at him hopefully.

“I don’t know if I can help Peter. But, I want to. I have a medbay full of good doctors that can take care of him for now while I try and get ahold of some experts, they’ll provide him with the same level of treatment as a hospital would if not slightly better. I’m also going to try to contact Doctor Banner who’s familiar with the effects of radiation. I’ll do everything in my power to get in contact with someone from Oscorp and if not, between you and me, I will hack into their system to get any information they have on this experiment. It’s up to you to decide, but I need you to understand that I can’t promise anything.” Tony sat back and waited for her response.

May let out a breath. “I know it’s...unpredictable. That you can’t guarantee anything. But I think you’re our best chance right now. I’m just not sure we can afford it even if we sold most of our possessions.”

Tony blinked at her a few times. “May...I don’t expect any payment for this. I have more money than I could spend in a lifetime. Let me help Peter.”

May looked uncomfortable at the idea but ultimately her concern for her nephew seemed to make her accept. “Okay. Alright. What do we have to do first?”

“If you’re agreeable, I think it would be best to transport Peter here right away. I can get ahold of an ambulance and I’ll staff it with some of my medical professionals to bring him here. I’m not sure if I’d feel comfortable transporting him any other way by the sounds of his condition.”

May nodded, looking at it from a nurse’s perspective. “That sounds best. Can I travel with him? Or Ben?”

“Is your husband with him right now?”

May nodded again. “We can’t leave him alone.”

“Then,” Tony thought it over, “how about you call Mr. Parker and inform him of the situation so my ambulance can pick them both up and bring him here. You can be waiting in the room he’ll be taken too.”

May searched through her bag until she pulled out her phone. “I can do that.”

“Alright, I’ll go sort everything else out then take you to his room.” Tony pictured the medbay rooms in his mind. “There should be a couch in his room that pulls out for you to rest on while we figure out what’s going on. I can sort out rooms for you and your husband if this is going to be a long-term thing and you want to stay though.”

May grabbed his arm just as he slipped past her to head for the door. “Thank you, Tony. I can never repay you for this. This means more than you can imagine.”

Tony patted her hand gently before she slid it off, “I think getting to meet Peter healthy would be repayment enough.”

“He loves you, you know? Big Iron Man fan, big Tony Stark fan too. He’s a smart kid. Loves your work, understands more of it than I do. I think meeting you is motivation enough for him to get better.” She smiled faintly at him.

Tony smiled back at her for the first time. “Can’t wait.”


	2. It's Radiation Sickness...But Not Quite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter arrives at the tower and the medical professionals start to discover what's happening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooow thank you guys for being so nice about this fic!! I checked my statistics out of curiosity to see how many people had subscribed and it's my most subscribed fic already! That's not saying much cause I think I've only ever done one other chapter fic but it made me super excited about the whole thing.
> 
> I have some comments I want to reply to from the first chapter but I'm just chucking this up first, then I'll go do that !! The third chapter is also in draft form so that might be up tomorrow. After that, it might be a little longer in between updates. Knowing me though, probably just like 2 days instead of 1 sdjfhssk.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this chapter! (i apologise in advance for all my summaries lmao)

Tony had sorted everything out for Peter, he’d flown in experts, given him the best care possible and although he hadn’t managed to get Bruce back in person, there’d been a few consulting video calls that the man was more than agreeable to. Bruce was also studying Peter’s case on his end in his free time.

The boy had arrived in the ambulance two nights ago and had been quickly seen to. Worryingly though, he hadn’t woken up much since. There were a few moments where his eyes had opened but he didn’t seem to process anything before passing back out. Apparently the transport had been enough to worsen his condition. Unfortunately, they couldn’t help that.

The general report submitted by the medical professionals he’d put on Peter’s case stated that Peter was undergoing some kind of radiation sickness, but it was affecting his DNA in ways not previously observed. Typically, this kind of problem in more mild cases would damage cells, bone marrow in particular. No bone marrow would mean no replacement white blood cells or red blood cells among other things. From there, death could occur from blood loss or infection, though there was still a chance of survival.

In more severe cases, which was more similar to what Peter was facing, cells in the gastrointestinal tract got killed which meant the body could no longer absorb nutrients which lead to electrolyte imbalances, dehydration and worse. Once that process occurs, death was pretty much guaranteed.

In the worst cases observed, at the highest level of understanding scientists had right now, it’d theoretically only take three days for the brain to lose control of the body after the cardiovascular system and central nervous system swelled with fluid due to damaged cells. Peter wasn’t that bad, thankfully.

Tony didn’t get much further with his own personal research because it didn’t take long for the experts studying Peter’s condition to quickly make it clear that this wasn’t a typical case of radiation sickness. It was something that’d never been observed before by them (Tony was incredibly glad he’d drawn up non-disclosure agreements) and therefore most of what they knew to expect was useless.

The radiation was affecting him at an atomic level, but instead of damaging his DNA in a way that should lead straight to death, it was altering it. So far, none of the professionals had written up a report detailing what the alterations meant, but it wasn’t leading towards death, that would simply be a negative (and permanent) side effect if it occurred.

Peter wasn’t even following the typical route of radiation poisoning. He’d skipped stage two of it where his symptoms should’ve disappeared entirely (leaving the person to mistakenly believe they were fine) and it was all progressing way faster than it should be in a mild case, and way slower than it should be in a severe case.

The bad news was, at this point it was pretty much impossible to undo the damage (or changes) already done. The good news was, Peter still might pull through. They just weren’t sure how he’d be affected though they were no doubt theorising, Tony thought as he scanned the reports in his lab.

Tony sat back on his stool with a sigh. He hadn’t met Peter yet but this was going to be rough on him if he pulled through. The kid didn’t deserve that. Hacking into Oscorp (after Norman had mysteriously become unavailable, aka probably left the country to dodge him) had suspiciously revealed nothing but a series of deleted files. Tony, to his frustration, hadn’t yet been able to recover them. He still had FRIDAY trying to but he wasn’t sure if it’d even help at this point.

He’d met Ben Parker yesterday when he’d gone down to the medbay to offer them a room. Sure, he said he was only going to do that if he found out it was a long-term thing but he felt bad about them sleeping on the pull out couch after only one night. Especially when he had free rooms.

The man clearly wasn’t sure what to make of him but he’d been mostly thankful anyway, though he’d certainly been trying to analyse Tony’s angle. Tony didn’t fault him for it, he was just concerned about Peter and the kid’s future.

It was when he felt his back aching that he realised he’d been sitting there awhile. “FRIDAY? What’s the time?”

“It’s three am, Boss.”

“Thanks.” Tony stood up and stretched, considering. May and Ben would probably be asleep now. Well, most people would probably be asleep now.

“How’s Peter going?” He started to shut down some of the screens he’d had open in front of him.

“The radiation continues to affect his DNA but he is much the same as before otherwise.”

Tony nodded. “Anyone in his room right now?”

There was a brief pause lasting less than a second, but still noticeable to Tony. “No, Boss.”

“Alright then.” Tony clapped. Time to meet Peter in person. Or, well, see him at least. 

“Down to the medbay, FRI.” Tony said as moved into the elevator, leaning against the wall. Sleep was not a bad idea. But first, he’d like to see the mysterious Peter Parker in person.

The elevator stopped, doors opening and Tony got out. He paused for a second before remembering the room he’d allocated to the kid and headed in that direction.

The nurses on duty nodded to him but didn’t say anything as he passed. He appreciated that, the silence was nice to keep thinking over everything uninterrupted.

Once in the doorway to Peter’s room, he paused. He probably wasn’t going to like the sight of Peter right now but he did want to see him so...he continued on into the room.

As he rounded the corner and everything came into view, he faltered. Seeing someone hooked up to an ungodly amount of medical equipment was never pleasant but it was definitely worse with a kid, even if Tony didn’t know him.

He was hooked up to an oxygen machine with a nasal cannula sitting on his face but Tony was just thankful that it wasn’t a tube down his throat. He also had one IV line clearly giving him fluid (at least the kid wasn’t dehydrated anymore) and another giving him something else Tony didn’t recognise. There was a heart rate monitor on his finger and a blood pressure machine right next to the bed. Alongside that were a few other things tubes Tony didn’t try to figure out.

Tony moved in front of the seat next to the bed but didn’t sit down. Logically, he knew the kid was fourteen, a teenager, on his way to adulthood. But he looked so small and thin in the bed, his skin was too pale and the hospital gown just added to how vulnerable he looked. This wasn’t the grinning kid from the photo May had shown him or the lively looking one from the first photo he saw of him.

This was Peter Parker, fighting for his life.

He sat down in the chair next to Peter’s bed and considered holding his hand. He’d held a few hands of people in hospital beds in his time. But it seemed a little weird, considering he didn’t know the kid and he wasn’t awake, so he settled for just looking at him.

He cleared his throat. “Hey, Peter.” It was a bit of a long shot to assume that Peter could hear him, he was pretty sure that only applied to comas and he wasn’t even sure if that was true but considering that Peter already wasn’t experiencing radiation sickness normally, maybe he’d hear him. Maybe the radiation changed his DNA in a way that allowed him to hear and process talking when he was unconscious. Anything seemed possible at this point.

The talking seemed better than silence anyway. “It’s Tony Stark. Your aunt told me you’re a fan. Said you’re a super-smart kid that understands my work.” He hadn’t spoken to May much since their first meeting, mostly keeping himself out of their business but he remembered what she said.

“She said the offer of meeting me would be enough motivation to get you right. This? Right here? Doesn’t really count as meeting each other so tell you what, you get better and I’ll go buy you lunch or something. You can freak out as much as you want, ask all the questions. I’ll even let you look at my suit, if your aunt and uncle agree.” Tony paused and took a deep breath. “But you’ve got to get better first. It’s probably not going to be easy but I reckon you’ve got this. I believe in you and all that jazz.” So maybe he wasn’t the _best_ at emotions.

Tony quietened and watched the kid breathe shallowly in his sleep, not-sleep, whatever it was. “Dunno if you can hear me, but you’ve got quite an interesting case going on here. I’m not sure where you’re going to end up.”

Tony sighed and pushed himself up from where he was sitting. “Hope it’s somewhere good though. Your aunt and uncle are certainly worried. Can’t have that going on too long. I’ll see you around, kid.” Tony hoped that was true.

And with that, Tony left back the way he came. If Peter kept progressing at the speed he had been, Tony was sure they’d find out very soon if he pulled through or not. He certainly hoped he did. He had to meet him after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys! I did research for this chapter! Can you tell?! Fascinating stuff, honestly. I l o v e science. I miss doing it at high school. Obviously though as much as I looked into radiation sickness and the effects of radiation, I still changed things up to fit the situation. And whatever I changed is made up completely lmao. Bit of a guess. I apologise for any grammar mistakes in the science-y part, I kept changing words but I never really hit a point of OH! THat's how you say THAT! so.
> 
> You know, while doing my research and trying to figure out if the spider that bit Peter contained gamma radiation, I came across a comment that said it'd be more accurate these days to say the spider was genetically modified, or mutated. Because apparently back when this all started, radiation was kinda seen like magic or something. So they were like, yup! Radiation works here! But if Spider-Man had been written last year for example, they probably would've wrote the spider as being genetically modified. I don't know if that's TRUE or not, could be a load of horseshit, but I found it super interesting and wanted to share in case it has any truth. I've chosen to stick to radiation though and just twist it the way I want.
> 
> Thanks for reading!! Everyone's kind of met each other now so there we go. Progress!


	3. Movement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY has footage of Peter moving in his sleep that she wants Tony to see. Tony isn't sure why, at least, not at first. Watching the footage makes it pretty obvious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gonna b real honest with u. did not get this up wednesday because i'd had a rough night in terms of sleep and was o u t of it and not any good for editing. did not get this up thursday (yesterday) because i rediscovered sushi cat and played every single game through to the end, getting all the outfits and everything. and i started rewatching doctor who from rose or series 1. so. but on my tumblr i promised to get it up today and would you look at that. it's today! because. that tends to be how the present works. took hours to edit but look,, sometimes it b like that.
> 
> anyway! enjoy this chapter! i'ma start writing the fourth chapter probably tonight and if all goes well i'll edit it tomorrow and either get it up tomorrow night or on sunday (nz time).

“Boss?”

Tony looked up from where he was drawing up plans to alter his sources of clean energy so they were more accessible to the general public. It was difficult but he was figuring it out slowly. “Yeah, FRI?” He absentmindedly continued making notes.

“I have some footage I think you’ll be interested in seeing.” Tony paused what he was doing entirely, FRIDAY had captured his full attention. She’d gotten good at doing that after she realised he zoned out half of what she said normally. It wasn’t intentional but c’mon, he had more interesting things in front of him generally.

Tony frowned. “What is it?” Someone breaking in? No, FRIDAY would’ve told him immediately. Someone stalking outside the tower suspiciously? Possible, but FRIDAY likely would’ve just said that. Something the scientists achieved on the lower levels? Could be a breakthrough.

“It’s Peter.”

Tony started tapping his fingers on the bench, “what about Peter? He hasn’t woken up, has he?” Then his fingers froze. His condition hadn’t got worse, had it? But no, FRIDAY specifically said footage which meant something visible.

“No, Boss. But he did move in his sleep.”

Tony relaxed and raised his eyebrows, “that’s a good sign, right? He wasn’t doing that before. So it’s less like he’s in a coma, more like he’s taking a giant nap?” A record-breaking nap, probably.

“Yes, Boss. It indicates a positive step forward. Except, I think you should see the footage of it.”

Tony shifted in his seat. “Watching someone sleep is a little weird, FRI. I mean, I get that he moved but I don’t see why I need to view it.” FRIDAY was good at getting his attention with vague sentences but it was also a little irritating at times when he couldn’t figure out what she was getting at.

“Boss, it’s what he does when he moves.” More vagueness. Great. Technically there was nothing stopping him from demanding an answer but he figured FRIDAY had her reasons. She was developed enough to have good reasoning skills and he mostly trusted them. Plus she had privacy protocols that meant anything too invasive was blocked off from him.

Tony bit the inside of his cheek as he considered. “Fine. Play the footage.”

A screen popped up in front of him showing the hospital room from the top of the far corner where the camera was located. Peter was laying completely still in his bed. If Tony focused hard enough, he could see the kid breathing which was reassuring since it was the only sign of life coming from the kid. No one was in the room with him. That made sense, Ben had gone back to working smaller shifts at his job and May was out grabbing a few things from the Parker’s apartment, if Tony remembered correctly.

They’d spoken a little more in passing during the last few days. Conversation was friendly, but she hadn’t been particularly open, not that he expected her to be with someone who was basically a stranger. She seemed like a good person though. 

Ben was a warm man, kind and grateful once he’d stopped eyeing Tony suspiciously but they hadn’t spoken as much. Tony got the impression that Ben would be a lot more open if they actually sat down and talked. He hadn’t tried to do that though.

It was then that Tony’s attention was drawn back to the screen when he saw Peter’s hand twitch. That was a pretty good sign, but he didn’t think FRIDAY wanted to show him just that, she would’ve gone ahead and told him instead. Then Peter’s hand moved over to brush against the rails of the bed. Tony smiled, that was a solid movement. His hand curled around a rail and got a grip on it.

Tony suddenly found himself squinting as the rail appeared to shift as he stared at it. He absolutely could not tell what just happened from that distance though. He needed a closer look.

“FRIDAY, zoom in on his hand and replay the last fifteen seconds.”

The screen zoomed in so that only Peter’s left hand was in the frame. The camera followed it as it moved from Peter’s side to grasp the rail. The hand went from loosely curling around the rail to tightening more and more. The rail actually started to buckle under his grasp as Peter’s hand went white. When Peter’s hand dropped back down to the bed, limp like before, Tony got a full view of the rail. The crushed rail. It was warped with clear finger imprints on the side visible to Tony, completely destroyed under Peter’s grasp.

The screen paused.

Tony sat back in his chair and took a deep breath to process what he’d just seen before leaning forward again. “I don’t suppose that part of the rail happened to have a…” Tony floundered for a bit before snapping his fingers, “a structural weakness that meant anyone could crush it?”

FRIDAY paused, “I have no previous scans of the rail to analyse.”

“So maybe the rail was just weak and Peter just happened to grab that part and crush it, right? Right. That’s totally possible.”

FRIDAY said nothing.

“Yeah, no, you’re right. That’s a concern. Call Bruce.” Tony pushed himself up and started pacing, a million thoughts going through his head at once. God, this could be bad. But how bad was the question.

“Calling Bruce Banner.” If it was going to be incredibly bad, Tony would like some warning before it went wrong. Everyone on Peter’s case would probably find out eventually unless Tony dismissed them all with a good amount of money so no one talked but right now, he just trusted Bruce with this. He needed to talk this over with him specifically.

Tony waited but the call rang out. “Don’t leave a voicemail, ring him again.”

“Boss, it’s 3am in his timezone.”

“Don’t care. Ring him again.” Tony knew he was being a dick but he was a little panicked. Just a little. If he was going to have to deal with a second hulk in his medical bay then he’d like to be prepared. He already wasn’t prepared to deal with super strength on its own. He’d figure it out though, he had to.

The call rang out again. “Boss, he isn’t answering-”

“Again. Turn the volume on his phone up if you have to.” Technically Tony shouldn’t be able to do that. But it wasn’t hard to hack the phone and turn the volume up. He’d owe Bruce a proper apology after this. But that wasn’t his main concern right now.

The call connected and Tony looked up from where he was pacing. “Bruce?”

“What.” Bruce’s voice was heavy with sleep, his answer mumbled with a sigh.

“Yeah, okay, that’s fair but this is an emergency. Wake up.” Tony clapped his hands to emphasise his point (and wake Bruce up more).

There was a groan and shuffling from the other end of the phone but a few seconds later a much more awake Bruce was on the phone, “is it Peter?”

Of course, he was spot on. What else would Tony be calling about at this time? “Yeah. So, remember how you did that radiation experiment and turned into the hulk?”

Bruce said nothing.

Right. That wasn’t particularly forgettable. “Okay, obviously you do. Dumb question. Do you think it’s a possibility the same thing could happen to Peter?” Because if so, Bruce was absolutely getting his ass back to America, ASAP.

“We already established that it wasn’t gamma radiation, Tony. The same thing won’t happen.” Bruce paused for a bit. “I’m not an expert in other kinds of radiation but it’s possible there will be certain similar changes considering his DNA is essentially being rewritten.”

“FRI, send Bruce the footage you showed me.” Time to get to the point.

“What footage?”

Tony bit back ‘the footage I just sent you’ and instead said, “watch it.”

Bruce quietened for a bit, presumably as he watched the video play through, possibly watching it a few times judging by how long he stayed silent. “So he’s likely got super strength.”

Tony groaned. This wasn’t ideal. He already suspected that.

“But, I don’t think you have a hulk situation on your hands. I don’t have super strength in my human form whereas Peter seems to. I’ve also been tracking the changes in his DNA to scan for similarities in how mine changed and so far there’s been nothing indicating a physical change to the scale of the hulk. There hasn’t even been that many similarities popping up. I think, Tony, whatever’s happening is a whole new situation. And honestly, I’m not sure how much insight I can give you here.”

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “So what am I supposed to do, walk up to his aunt and uncle and go hey! Peter crushed part of the bed last night! So he probably has super strength now, avoid holding his hand if you don’t want yours broken! By the way, is the water pressure in your shower alright?”

“If you intend on complete transparency, then yes,” Bruce said, sounding completely like a doctor in that moment even if he supposedly wasn’t _that kind of doctor_.

Well, Tony could always claim they feared the radiation might be reaching levels too dangerous for anyone to come into contact with him to keep his guardians away. He could even chuck in a whole bunch of science to scare them off.

But he wasn’t going to. It was really Peter’s choice whether he wanted to disclose such information or not, but with Peter unable to make that choice, his aunt and uncle had to be informed.

Tony huffed out a sigh. “Alright. I’m sorry for waking you. I’ll go handle that and by the time you wake up in the morning, I’ll make sure you have perfectly up to date copies of his DNA to examine.” Even if Bruce didn’t think he could help much, Tony still wanted him on Peter’s case.

“Bye, Tony. I’ll let you know if I find anything.” The call cut off.

Tony walked over to the couch and sunk down into it. “Alright. Just have to tell his aunt and uncle that Peter could break all their bones by accident. No big deal. Just have to...figure out the wording. Because there’s definitely a correct way to word this.”

FRIDAY, wisely chose to let him have his crisis for a good while before interrupting, “Boss, May Parker has arrived.”

Tony pushed himself up slowly from the couch and sighed. “Alright. Okay. Tell her to come straight up to the penthouse, make sure she doesn’t stop in to see Peter.”

“Understood. She’s heading towards the elevator now.”

Tony headed for the stairs to bring him up the penthouse. This was going to be an experience he would rather avoid. It was a shame he couldn’t bribe FRIDAY into doing it for him. She never accepted his bribes (he regretted coding that into her).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I've ever written Bruce before, or at least I haven't in an extended scene SO. I apologise if he's ooc. I tried from what I remember but let's b real here, I have an AWFUL memory so I could've been way off. 
> 
> buuut things r happening y'all! slowly, sure, but damn Peter be using that rail as a stress ball. and honestly? that's so valid. he's going through a very stressful time. he has a right to use the rail as a stress ball. i'm still thinking about how exactly i want this to progress but hmm. lots of possibilities. i'm gonna keep it moving though. you can probably tell where this is leading into the next chapter which isn't REALLY moving it forward buut after that who knows. not me!


	4. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tells May and Ben what he saw. They discuss it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so never listen to me when i say i'm going to get a chapter up on a certain day because i never do,, i started off my morning by editing this planning to get it up before lunch but then i ate a whole lot of lolly cake and i,, dear god,, i still feel awful,, that was a mistake,, think my lactose intolerance is kicking in via headache and nausea,, i deserve this but boy do i hate it,, 
> 
> i expected to have it edited yesterday but i had a surprise appointment so. also i'm sorry if there's more mistakes than usual, i changed VERY little while editing which is very weird for me. I normally change every second sentence because it doesn't make sense. but this time most of it SEEMED fine. either miserable-regretting-that-lolly-cake me is missing stuff or i had a good writing moment when i wrote this.

Tony got to the penthouse just in time to see May moving unsurely out of the elevator. She looked around curiously but didn’t move in more than a few steps like she wasn’t sure if she was welcome. Suddenly he realised she’d never been up here before, she’d never had a reason to be, really. She mostly stuck to the medbay floor.

He moved into her line of view and she turned to look at him. “Tony? What’s going on?” She sounded a little lost.

Tony considered. How did one break this sort of news to a family member? “Hey, May. Want anything to drink? I’ve got water, uh...probably other things in the fridge. Pretty sure I’ve got some food somewhere that isn’t expired.” He cooked sometimes! Not recently, hence the fear of expired food, but he did keep his cupboards stocked occasionally. Surely he’d have something somewhere.

May raised an eyebrow. “I’ll pass, thanks.” Probably a wise choice, in all honesty. Then she continued more seriously, “what am I doing up here?”

“How about we go sit down first? My lounge is just to the left. My left. Your right. Uh. That way.” Tony waved his hand towards it.

“Is something wrong with Peter?” May looked one second away from bolting back to the elevator to check on him herself.

Well. That was a little subjective. “Not exactly. There’s been...a development. But it’s...not bad for his health.” Tony frowned. “Well it hasn’t been tested, although it will be, but his condition hasn’t changed negatively so.” Tony trailed off and clapped his hands together gently.

May looked at him suspiciously but she seemed slightly more relaxed. “Why are you choosing your words so carefully?”

“Look, I’ll be entirely honest with you if you just take a seat.” Not that he was lying. He was just...being vague. FRIDAY was a bad influence, clearly.

“I’m a nurse, Tony. Generally taking a seat means shockingly bad news.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him expectantly, unmoved.

Tony sighed, “it’s complicated, alright? It’s too early right now to say if it’s actually bad for him because I only just found out, and it’s subjective if it’s bad in general.”

May looked at him a little longer before nodding and heading into the lounge. “Ben’s not going to get here until later tonight.”

“Unfortunately, I kind of need to tell you now unless you’re willing to stay out of Peter’s room until then.” Tony followed her in.

May sunk down into an armchair, sighing and pushing the hair out of her face in a clear display of stress. “You’re not being reassuring.”

Tony sat down on the chair next to her, twisting it around slightly so it was angled towards her. “I’m not really used to this whole thing, May, breaking the medical news. But I have a video, maybe fifteen seconds long that documents what Peter did. I think that might be the best way to explain the situation. And I want to stress that the only reason I have access to such footage is because it raised red flags with my AI who allowed me to view it. Otherwise, I’d be blocked off.” The last thing he needed her to think was that he was creepily watching her nephew in his spare time.

“Or, I can tell you, bluntly or the long version. Your choice.” Tony had delivered his fair share of bad news before but this really did feel like uncharted territory. May choosing would make it a bit easier.

May shifted in her seat, pressing her lips together. “The video then, I’ll trust you if you think it’s best.”

Tony nodded. Telling her, ‘hey! Your nephew might have superstrength!’ was understandably the kind of thing that was a bit unbelievable. Seeing evidence made it a little harder to deny. “FRIDAY, bring the normal video up for May that you showed me earlier, then play the zoomed-in version.”

“Yes, Sir.” May flinched slightly but played it off as shifting in her seat again. Tony had introduced her to FRIDAY but people seemed to continuously get startled by her voice unless they heard her on a regular basis. He didn’t comment on it.

May looked at him strangely but turned her attention right back to the video as it popped up and started to play. She smiled slightly at the sight of Peter and her facial expression only changed towards the end to confusion. FRIDAY started playing the zoomed-in version straight after and she watched Peter’s hand crush the rail silently, in shock. 

“Would you like to see it again?” FRIDAY asked.

Tony jumped in when May didn’t say anything, “that’s okay, FRI. Take it down for now.” The screen disappeared and then it was just a matter of waiting.

“Tony…” May said warningly but Tony could hear the fear behind it.

“His DNA obviously hasn’t settled completely yet, it’s still being altered in places so nothing can be said for certain right now. But judging by that video…” 

“He’s...strong.” May said slowly like she wasn’t really present, stuck in her head.

“Yeah.” Understatement of the century but they could go with that.

May seemed to struggle for what she wanted to ask next so Tony just started talking, hoping to answer her worries in the process. “I know I was being vague earlier but enhanced strength isn’t an inherently bad thing. Could be from your point of view, but in terms of health impacts, I don’t think it’ll make anything worse. And it’s not exactly going to be easy but he can live like that, May. It’s just added strength.”

May nodded, taking it in.

“Right now though, with him not being conscious, I don’t think he has any control over it. Which is why I needed you to see me before him today. I think you know that I’m going to recommend you don’t hold his hand. And…” Tony took a deep breath wondering how to word this.

“And even being within reach of him is dangerous right now,” May finished with understanding.

Tony nodded. “Right. But at this stage in his condition, he hasn’t been moving at all, except for that moment. So you’re probably safe for now, but, in saying that, I can’t guarantee it. It’s when,” Tony wasn’t going to say ‘if’, it had to be a ‘when’, “he starts getting more active and closer to waking up that I’m going to have to ask you to keep a bit of distance or just avoid the hands.”

May sighed heavily like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. “What about when he wakes up?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure. If you woke up with ten times as much strength as when you went to sleep it might be difficult to control. So there’s probably going to have to be an adjustment period. But I think he’ll get there.” Tony hadn’t really considered that before now but it made sense. There wasn’t really a physical therapist for super strength but they could figure something out.

May nodded. “Alright. We’ll just have to work through it. Is there anything else or can I go see him? I just...I’d just like to right now.”

“Of course. But there’s one more thing, I don’t need an answer right away but probably within the next 24 hours would be a good idea. What do you want to do about everyone involved in Peter’s case?”

May frowned at him. “What about them?”

“Well. FRIDAY’s been told to lie if anyone asks about the rail. She’ll say I was down there and I crushed it with a gauntlet from my iron man suit after I thought I noticed the rail being weak. I’ve promised to fix it by tomorrow. But Peter’s strength is likely going to become more obvious. Everyone working on Peter’s case has signed NDA’s but the more people that know, the riskier it is, unfortunately.”

May stared down at the ground for a bit. “Is there...are some of the experts not necessary to have around? Would it be possible to narrow the number of people working on his case down?”

Tony hummed. “I probably can. I’ll get a report from them tomorrow with a detailed account of everything they’ve observed and we can probably work from there, dismissing some. If that’s what you want.”

“What do you think is best?” May met his eyes, looking for advice.

“I think narrowing it down is a good idea. It’s not the kind of thing you want everyone to know, and I think we can certainly get rid of a lot of the people on his case without risking his health.”

May nodded. “Okay. I’ll get back to you with an answer then after I’ve talked to Ben. I’ll tell him everything you’ve said so you don’t have to repeat all this with him.”

“It’s no bother, May. He’s welcome to come and find me if he has questions that I didn’t answer here. Just ask FRIDAY to play the video if you want to show him it as well.”

May stood up and straightened her shirt. “Thank you for telling me, Tony. I’m going to go see Peter now."

Tony stood up as well and walked her to the elevator. “If you need anything from me, just ask FRIDAY. I’ll find the time.”

May nodded, smiled, then stepped into the elevator.

\----

Tony was in the middle of patting out the fire on his shirt when FRIDAY spoke up, “Mr. Parker asked me if he can speak with you.”

Tony groaned as he put out the last of the fire. Perfect timing. Damn, he had a hole in his shirt now. That sucked. 

“Boss?”

“Oh. Right. Uhh.” Tony looked down at the state of himself, burnt shirt and oil-stained jeans, not to mention the plethora of other stains he’d managed to pick up during his workshop session. “Well. Umm.”

Then he looked around his workshop quickly, counting the amount of government secrets that citizens should see under no circumstances sprawled out on his benches. Less than ten. “Okay, tell him he can come down and meet me in my workshop now or meet me in my penthouse in, say, fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll say twenty, Boss.”

Tony nodded. “Smart. Good thinking.” There was a pause as Tony poked the hole in his shirt. Definitely well beyond fixing. He could always order another but it wouldn’t be the same. 

“He says he’ll meet you down here in about two minutes. May I recommend putting out the fire?”

“I put out the fire!”

“Boss, it’s on your back too.”

 _Fuck_. He thought it was just the anxiety of having to speak to Ben that was making him warm. “Stop, drop and roll, right? Let’s go!”

He dropped to the ground just as FRIDAY quickly said, “Boss-” and suddenly realised why when he landed on some scrap metal he’d chucked there earlier. He groaned and started rolling on them anyway. 

“Boss, it’s out now.”

“Fantastic, because I’m not moving again. My back hurts so much.” That was an understatement. His back felt like it’d been attacked by the hulk.

“Mr. Parker is at the workshop door.”

“Never mind. I’m moving again. Let him in.” Tony dragged himself up, cursing under his breath because his back really hurt. He stretched just as Ben made his way in, slowly stepping over everything on the floor. Ben paused when he caught sight of him.

“Are you okay, Tony?” He frowned.

Tony looked down at himself again and sighed. “Mostly.”

Ben nodded and moved closer. “I can go wait in the penthouse if you want, FRIDAY just made it sound like you weren’t busy.”

“Oh, I’m not busy. My last attempt to fix this project set me on fire so I think it’s time for a break.” He shoved some parts he had resting on the stool next to him off onto the ground mindlessly and gestured for Ben to sit there.

Ben moved out a bag from behind his back and sat down. “May and I had some leftovers from dinner and I thought I’d bring you something to eat since FRIDAY said you were still in the workshop. Figured you hadn’t eaten yet. We didn’t touch any of this, don’t worry. We just ordered too much. New take out place, hard to tell how much you’re getting with each item sometimes.”

“Oh.” Tony looked at it surprised. “That’s okay, you can save it for tomorrow or something. I do find time to eat, contrary to popular belief.” Although he had missed lunch today, it was very tempting.

Ben smiled warmly at him, “I’m sure you do, I’m simply speeding up the process.”

“Uh. Alright. Yeah. Smells good. I’ll just go wash my hands because there’s only so much oil safe for a human to consume and I might be pushing it if I eat without washing them tonight.”

Ben laughed at him and sat back, watching as Tony got up and quickly made his way to the lab’s bathroom, very aware that the majority of his back was exposed. It wasn’t like he knew Ben well enough to leave him in his lab but he also didn’t like the government enough to protect their secrets and his were all hidden so.

As he washed his hands, he smiled to himself. It was just food but it was a thoughtful gesture. He often missed the little things in his life.

When he came back out, Ben had spread out the food on his bench, clearly having carefully pushed everything to the side. Tony would’ve just shoved it off, it was what the project deserved after all. He took a seat and opened the main container to find a big burger that was still slightly warm. His eyes widened and he looked at Ben, “really?”

“I ordered it for myself but I didn’t need it with everything else. Figured you’d like it.”

“I love it.”

Ben laughed heartily, “you haven’t taken a bite yet.”

Tony took a bite and quickly swallowed. “I love it.”

Ben smiled widely before his face fell into a more serious expression.

Tony bit into the burger, deliberately chewing a lot slower. It actually was a pretty good burger.

“Tony.”

Tony swallowed. “How much did May tell you?”

“I saw the video. May told me most of what you said and FRIDAY helped with anything that slipped her mind. I think I’m aware of all the information we have right now but I have one question in particular.”

Tony put the burger down and went to wipe his hands on his pants before thinking better of it, then went to wipe them on his shirt before, again, thinking better of it. At that point Ben held out a napkin from the bag and Tony took it gratefully. He’d say Ben was a mind reader but it was probably his strange hand dance that gave him away.

“Okay, shoot. I’ll try my best to answer.”

“Peter having super strength is...scary, to be honest with you. I’m not scared of him, he’s a good kid that would never consciously hurt anyone, I’m scared that I might not be able to help him anymore. This is beyond anything I’m familiar with. But he’s still Peter. We’ll do everything to support him and get him through this. What I’m worried about is what if there’s more to come? Do you think he’ll develop more...superhuman abilities? Is that possible?”

Tony fiddled with the napkin in his hands as he played with the thought in his head. “I’m supposed to be getting a full report from everyone I have working on his case tomorrow since that’ll mark a week of him being here, I’m not sure if May told you. That might reveal a few things. I’ll make sure you and May get a copy. But, uh...I don’t know, Ben. His DNA is still being altered in places and we still don’t know what some of of the changes mean so, yes, it’s possible.”

Ben let out a heavy sigh and Tony moved one of his feet to nudge one of Ben’s in possibly the worst display of comfort he’d ever tried to initiate. “I think I forgot to mention it to May earlier but on the bright side, that’s the first time Peter’s moved since he went into a coma-like state. That means he’s probably closer to waking up.”

Ben smiled at him despite everything. He seemed to have a knack of pushing aside bigger emotions to focus on what he was feeling in the present time. It was certainly refreshing to see so much warmth in such a situation. “Thanks, Tony. I better get back down to May and Peter. I said I wouldn’t be long.”

“Of course. Thank you for the food. And if you have any more questions...you or May are welcome to come see me. I’ll keep you up to date with anything I hear on my end.”

Ben pushed himself up from the stool with a grunt and Tony winced, knowing he really needed to get some better seats for the workshop. He headed towards the elevator before Tony cleared his throat and spoke to his back, “for what it’s worth, I’ll provide Peter with whatever help he needs when he wakes up. This arrangement doesn’t end until he’s definitely doing okay.”

Ben turned around and smiled knowingly at him, like he knew Tony cared more than he liked to let on. Tony, for once, didn’t actually mind so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was unsure about this chapter. It would've been easy enough to go oh let me just say 'yup they talked and accepted it nervously' or whatever in one sentence then push the story forward. BUT I thought about it and realised I absolutely wanted to show you where Tony sits with May and Ben. I didn't want to just skip over it because I wanted to get to Peter and Tony quicker or whatever. I wanted to make sure it wasn't weird if I suddenly showed them interacting with more warmth in the future. They're not like best buds here because that's not rlly fitting w/ the situation but they're closer, especially Ben and Tony.
> 
> I've said this before but i don't know Ben's character. Couple of you pointed me in the right direction (thanks!!) and I TRIED to go with it. If I've messed his character up completely, I'm sorry. I enjoyed writing his part though and decided I wanted to keep it. I liked it more than May's lmao but hers was more serious so that's probably why.
> 
> I! Don't! Know! Where I'm going with the next chapter! I have some decisions to make oh boy. I THINK i'm going to give the story a push forward but it's like do I want to ease into that more? But this was never intended to be particularly long or anything so I might just go for the push. I have ideas, don't get me wrong, and I still know where I want it to end up, just gotta piece it together now.


	5. Who Forgot To Invite Physics?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony just happens to witness Peter deciding to exclude gravity from the party. He starts to form a theory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so.............yeah this update is LATE. I'm moving out this upcoming Saturday and I had a few busier days getting stuff sorted like you know, learning basic survival skills. Anyway, I also rewrote it like 5 times because anything I wrote wasn't QUITE right but I'm fairly happy with it now. It was meant to be up yesterday because I set Tuesday aside for finishing/editing this chapter but guess who ended up with a wicked headache and a sore stomach AND their chronic pain just being a dick,, anyway, still have that weird headache today but fuck it, i edited this! hopefully with not too many mistakes!

Tony’s day had actually started out well.

His morning schedule had been cleared so he could meet with May and go over the report he’d received at exactly seven in the morning. Seriously, seven on the dot. He could only assume everyone assigned to Peter’s case on the research team had worked through the night. 

Ben would be at work but the Parkers had spoken the night before and May would deliver the decision they’d made to him, at least that’s what FRIDAY had told him after informing him that she’d made arrangements for all his meetings to be rescheduled if he gave her permission. He had, obviously. Anything to get out of meetings.

FRIDAY had grown a strong interest in Peter’s case, unsurprisingly. She was an advanced AI that had access to most of the information in the world but Peter’s case was new territory. If she were human, Tony would say it fascinated her but it more likely came down to her programming to collect and retain information. Thus, she’d been displaying more initiative and judgement in recent days when it came to helping Peter. Tony just watched the development happen proudly.

If the Parkers had decided to keep all the experts around, their meeting would be more about damage control for when Peter displayed abnormal behaviour that they couldn’t hide or lie about, or when the experts figured out what Peter’s genetics were now coded for. If they’d decided to narrow the list of experts down, the meeting would be more about coming to an agreement on who they’d remove. That would later be confirmed with Ben. 

Legally, it could get a little dicey if he didn’t have consent from both guardians, not that he thought that would happen, but he was used to covering his bases by now.

Except instead of that happening, May had been called into the hospital she worked at for an emergency that she couldn’t get out of without losing her job, so Tony had never gotten the chance to see her. He’d simply heard her quick apology that FRIDAY had passed on. 

He’d considered offering to find her employment in one of the medical sectors he had scattered around his buildings and pay her until she was ready to go back to work but he was pretty sure that was what Pepper called a step too far. So he’d passed on mentioning it, for now, at least.

He’d ended up in Peter’s room anyway because he’d been heading down there when he heard the news from May. He’d figured he might as well pop in for a few minutes, at least. Finish his coffee he’d grabbed on the way down while he was there.

Peter hadn’t changed much from the last time he’d seen him, but this time he had a small soft toy bear tucked into his side that said ‘get well soon’ on it. The teen had the toy in a death grip (except not literally, because Tony was almost certain he could actually destroy the toy if he used his new levels of strength) in his left hand which was interesting (and a little cute).

It was interesting because it indicated that Peter was beginning to move around more. FRIDAY had let him know that Ben had brought the bear in last night with him but Peter had only moved to grab it around 2am. The fact that it was pulled in close to him seemed to imply that Peter recognised what it was in his unconscious state. 

It’d gotten even more interesting when, as he leaned back in his seat drinking his coffee, he noticed that Peter was making tiny movements every so often. A pinky finger spreading out, eyelids twitching, a minor shift in his shoulders that Tony barely caught. 

Peter’s condition had gone from a single monumental movement yesterday to regular ones today, even if they were mostly small. Things were speeding up suddenly and Tony wasn’t sure what that meant. So far Peter had followed a pattern. His DNA was being altered at a certain rate, he was progressing at a constant speed, therefore he’d come to slowly as well as everything settled into place. But this was...an increase in activity.

Of course, what stopped his day from going well was also the most interesting thing. It didn’t ruin his day exactly, wasn’t even bad, but the idea of having to sit the Parkers down again and try to explain this was an idea he wasn’t fond of.

He was just thinking about leaving when Peter had made a slow, drawn-out movement with his hand holding the bear as he inched it out between the rails and let it hang there in front of Tony, apparently content with the position. 

Tony’s first reaction had been amusement, someone’s brain had clearly rejected the toy and was now getting rid of it like a toddler throwing their food onto the ground. His second reaction had been something that didn’t really have a previous name. So he’d named it.

_‘Wait a second, Peter’s hand is flat, how is he still holding the bear? Why is the bear not dropping to the floor? Does the bear have glue on it? Let me get closer- yup, that hand is flat as a pancake and that bear is stuck. Pulling on it does nothing. What is happening here? This shouldn’t be possible. What the fuck.’_

It was a little long-winded, he’d have to shorten it eventually for convenience sake (he was considering ‘what the physics-breaking fuck’) but it certainly conveyed the correct feeling. 

Which brought him to now. Tony rubbed his face roughly with his hand and downed the rest of his coffee, hoping that’d kick his brain into full gear. “FRIDAY, scan Peter’s hand. Can you figure out how he’s doing...that?”

There was a pause. “Tarantulas secrete a small amount of a silky adhesive substance from each of their feet. I believe I am detecting a similar substance.”

“You have scans of tarantula glue?” Since when? That implied FRIDAY had encountered a tarantula and he hated that concept.

FRIDAY paused, this time in clear hesitation. “I scanned one on your last trip to California, Boss. I guided it outside afterwards.”

Tony groaned. “There was a tarantula in my home?!” Did it crawl on his bed? He was selling that house. Fuck it. He could get another in the area. 

FRIDAY said nothing and Tony just took a deep breath.

“Right. Not the point.” But also they’d be discussing this later. “So he’s what, making glue? Are you implying he was bitten by a tarantula?” Because, number one, gross. Number two, if Peter turned into a tarantula, he was out. No more visits to the kid. The Parkers could have the tower. 

“Temporary glue, to be precise. The species of the original spider is not something I can detect and it is not in the reports, that I recommend you read.” He was _getting there_ , thank you very much. “It is possible, but the makeup of this adhesive is slightly different.”

“But the glue will wear off, right?” Hey, May, your kid permanently has a bear stuck to his hand! At least it’s cute? Nope. He was not going to have to say that.

“Theoretically. Judging by the amount of time the bear has been stuck and the rest of his body has been producing an adhesive, he may not be in control of it, at least not in an unconscious state.”

“The rest of his body?” Tony was a little tempted to poke Peter’s face to see what happened but admitting to May that he’d gotten his finger stuck to her kid’s face was even worse than a bear stuck on the hand. So he refrained.

“It’s mainly his feet and palms but there is still a very thin layer of adhesive I can detect everywhere else. If I may, Sir, I believe it’s how the adhesive is adapting to a human body.”

Tony nodded to himself. Peter didn’t have eight legs or hands or whatever so that seemed reasonable. “So...Peter’s sticky. Out of curiosity…” he trailed off as he stood up and approached the bed. He tried lifting the blanket by Peter’s feet and found it firmly stuck. “Legally would I get in trouble if I told the nurses I glued the blanket to Peter and that’s why they can’t get it off?”

“Almost certainly, Sir.”

What was the gluing version of arson? That’s what he’d be convicted for. “Thought so. I’ll tell them I changed the sheets so they don't have to.”

“You?” FRIDAY sounded doubtful.

“I know how to change sheets!”

“Very well, Boss.” Tony scowled at her tone. He’d changed sheets before! She’d absolutely seen him do it too!

Tony paused for a second as something occurred to him. “FRI? Are spiders strong? You know, for their size?”

“Tarantulas-”

“Oh my god, FRI, why do we keep coming back to them?” He didn’t want to hear it.

“Very well. It is thought a jumping spider can hold up to one hundred and seventy times its weight. I do believe that is considered strong.”

“Okay...so...I think I’m onto something here.”

“...You believe Peter is gaining spider traits.”

“Am I wrong? I mean, we knew the radiation was changing his DNA rather than damaging it, and I think the effects of it being passed on by an animal, or arachnid, in this scenario, is Peter picking up the traits the spider had. He’s strong and sticky so...” Was that a reasonable theory?

“It seems like a plausible theory, Boss.” Apparently it was.

“Think there’s any other traits we can definitely expect if that’s the case?” Tony was no expert on spiders but maybe there was some all-spiders-have-this trait. Like all spiders are dicks. Well, Peter would probably be the exception to that.

“There are some common factors like bad eyesight but even that has exceptions. It is hard to predict anything without knowing the kind of spider that bit him and the potentially mutated traits it had considering what Oscorp was doing.”

“Didn’t the kid already wear glasses?” He could’ve sworn he remembered glasses being a thing.

“Yes, Boss. May moved them into here last night, just in case he wakes up suddenly and needs them.”

“So that wouldn’t be a big shock to him, right?”

“He did not directly gain a spider’s strength. That would’ve made him weaker. He gained the ability to lift the proportionate amount. For example, it may be one hundred and seventy times his body weight, like the jumping spider. If we assume the same will happen there, he may become blind.”

Tony’s eyes widened, “woah, no need to go down the worst route.” That went onto the list of things he didn’t want to tell the Parkers.

“I am simply applying the logic of how one ability translated onto him.”

“Yeah, well, it sucks.”

FRIDAY stayed silent for a bit as Tony stared at the kid. “Boss, would you like me to see if I can get any of the meetings you cancelled to go ahead anyway?”

Tony shifted in his seat. “Nah. I think I’ll sit here with him for a bit. Read that report. Start figuring out who we could take off the list if the Parkers want that, you know. Keep him company.”

“Very well, Boss.” 

Truthfully he just wanted to spend time near him. Peter wasn’t the first enhanced person he’d met, but he was the first he’d met transitioning into an enhanced person, and that made him scared for the kid.

Now, how was he going to push the kid’s hand back onto the bed so no one saw what Peter was doing without getting stuck to said kid? Seemed like a normal challenge to start the morning off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the next update will probably be AFTER i move out so expect a delay again. Maybe. I know exactly what's happening in the next chapter though so maybe if I find some more spare time I'll get it up earlier than expected. I'm excited for it. this was meant to be a bridging chapter and it still IS but i added more substance to it but if you're still like i feel like not much is happening here, you're right, BUT i didn't want to go right into the next thing so i had to,, write this,, we're getting there. little steps.
> 
> also if i ever make a mistake in terms of inconsistency and you notice it, can u yell at me? i saw in the last chapter i wrote 'of of' by accident which, whatever, minor thing, but if I say something that goes against what I said two chapters ago or if i type 'tony finished his coffee and-' then two paragraphs later 'tony finished his coffee and-' and you happen to see it can u lmk so i can fix it? In this chapter i realised i had to go back to previous chapters a few times to make sure i wasn't going against something i said earlier and that's the first time i've had to do that so now i'm like,, very worried that i may be inconsistent somewhere,, i am trying my best

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr is fictional-worlds-are-exquisite


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